Baked Beetroot with Feta

This is a great appetizer - easy to make, healthy and delicious! I don't like beetroot normally, but I should be having them to increase my hemoglobin levels. I liked this dish well enough to eat a few pieces.

You'll need:
2-3 beetroots
Olive oil 3-4 tbsps
1tbsp cumin seeds
100 gms Feta cheese
Salt to taste

Peel and dice 2-3 beetroots. Put in an baking dish.
Drizzle 2 tbsp olive oil

In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Once hot, add 1 tbsp cumin seeds and fry till they sizzle.
Pour this on top of the beets, season with salt, and bake at 10 deg C for 30 minutes.

Chop pieces of Feta cheese and mix with the beets. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Serve as a mix or combine with picks.

Masala Rice

Entering the kitchen in the summer, or worse, humid monsoons is not something I look forward to. I keep looking for one-dish meals that are quick and easy to make. This rice was a desperate effort to finish with my cooking in 10 minutes...and it worked.

I already had some cooked rice...but it takes just 10 minutes to make it in the microwave if it's not ready.

In a hot saucepan:
4 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin
2-3 crushed garlic
1 large onion

Once the onion starts to brown slightly, add

1 large chopped tomato and let it cook.

Once the liquid from the tomato had been absorbed, add
1tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp chilli powder

Cook this for 2 minutes, then add
1 cup of chopped mix vegetables (carrots, peas, beans, cauliflower)

Let it cook for another 3-4 minutes then add 2 cups of cooked rice and seasoning.
Cover and leave for 5 minutes.

Top with some chopped fresh coriander.

Crispy Skin Fish with Veggies & Garlic Rice

I usually don't like the skin on fish (or chicken). But grilled fish with a crispy skin looked very appetizing on TV. For a first try, I decided to keep it simple. This came out well.

For the fish:
2 halves of a filleted fish (with skin) - I used Rawas or Indian Salmon
Seasoning (salt/pepper)
Oil for grilling

Take some kitchen towels and dry out the fish - it might take 2 to 3 tries to get it completely dry. Make small slits on the skin.

Heat oil in a grilling pan. Add the seasoning to it. Wait till the oil is sizzling hot, then lay the fish skin-side down. Don't prod or turn it for 3 to 4 minutes. Cook for another 2 minutes on the other side and it is done!

Steamed Vegetables:
Broccoli
Snow peas
Baby corn
2 tbsp Light soy sauce

Steam the vegetables, top it up with the soy sauce.

Baked Potatoes:
Potatoes
Salt/pepper
Chilli flakes
1 tbsp Olive oil

Cut potatoes in wedges. In a bowl, toss it with the seasoning and bake it in an oven at 180 deg Celsius for about 40 minutes.

Garlic Rice:
2 cups cooked rice
2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 tbsp butter
Salt to taste

Add butter to a hot pan, put in the garlic. Just when it starts to brown, add the rice and salt.

Summer Salad

I had something similar at a restaurant and loved it, so tried to replicate it at home and it turned out quite well.
I love this salad because it makes me eat 2 things that I don't normally eat but I should beacuse they're healthy - beets and prunes.

Rinse out a bunch of lettuce leaves.
A good way to dry them is to take a few leaves and wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and shake. It's a longer process but better than eating a soggy salad, or buying a salad spinner that takes up space I don't have to spare.

Add:
1 boiled (or baked), and peeled beetroot
1 onion
1 large tomato (or a few cherry tomatoes)
1 large carrot (peeled)
2 cucumbers
5-6 chopped prunes 
6-8 pieces of Walnut (broken in halves)
4-5 olives

Dressing (pour just before serving):
2 tbsp Olive or Flax seed Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey

Cheese:
Top with either Feta or Blue cheese

Shawarma

Just hummus with pita is a snack, hummus with some cottage cheese and veggies is a tasty meal that is easy to make.

Make a batch of hummus.

Meanwhile, marinate for an hour in the fridge (or overnight if you have the time):

250 gms of cottage cheese (or boneless chicken cubes)

2-3 tbsps of yogurt

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder/roasted cumin

Salt/pepper to taste

Transfer this to a baking dish and slow roast it for an hour at 150 deg C, then at 200 deg C for 10-15 min so that the juices evaporate. But make sure to not burn the tops and keep tossing them every 5 minutes for the last 15 minutes.

For the salad:

1 beet: peeled, boiled and sliced

1 carrot, sliced

A few olives 

Start layering with the hummus at the bottom, then the salad, and top it up with the cottage cheese. You could even add some Greek yogurt to the base.

Serve with toasted Pita bread

Chocolate Mousse

This is the simplest thing you can make which tastes SO good!

All you need is
500 gm cream (room temperature)
250 gm chocolate (any kind - I prefer dark chocolate)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave (make sure to not burn it). It takes about 40-50 seconds for a large slab.
Whisk it lightly with a hand beater just to make sure there are no lumps. Add the cream in parts, making sure to blend it all in with the chocolate. If the cream is cold, it will solidify the chocolate on contact, making it lumpy.

Once both ingredients are incorporated, put it in the fridge for an hour or two. And that is IT.

For added flavourings, here are some additions you can make, either individually or in combinations:

1 tbsp coffee powder dissolved in 2 tbsp water at room temperature (add it while mixing the chocolate with cream)
1 tsp orange/lemon zest (added while mixing)
1 tbsp Cocoa powder (sift it over the mousse while serving, or add it with the mix for stronger flavour)
1/4 cup of grated chocolate (as garnish)
1 tsp mint essence (added while mixing)

Strawberry Muffins

It was just supposed to be plain berry muffins, but we topped it with some cream cheese icing, and baked it in a large muffin mold to make it into a great birthday surprise.

You need:
A cup of finely chopped, or mashed, strawberries (and some more nicely sliced ones for garnishing - optional)
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and stir some more. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Line muffin tray and pour about 2 tbsps of batter in each cup.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for about 15 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

If you are using the cream cheese icing, let the muffin cool completely (30 min or so) before spreading it over.

Makes about 10 medium-sized muffins